# ‘Give Up Loving Pop': reimagining oral health promotion through sport, social practice, and prevention

## TL;DR

This paper introduces GULP, a school-based oral health program using sports clubs to encourage children to drink more water and improve their hydration habits.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is a community-based, sport-integrated approach to oral health promotion that shifts away from individual-focused education.

## Key findings

- Evaluation data show increased preference for water in school and sport settings.
- Children demonstrated better understanding of drink sugar content and improved oral hygiene routines.
- The program successfully embeds hydration habits without moralizing.

## Abstract

Oral diseases such as dental caries remain a significant and inequitable public health challenge among children in England, particularly in socioeconomically deprived communities. Despite their preventable nature, oral health conditions have long been overlooked in national child health strategies and siloed from broader non-communicable disease prevention agendas. This paper presents Give Up Loving Pop (GULP), a pragmatic, school-based oral health intervention delivered in partnership with professional sports clubs and their community organisations. Framed through the lens of health practice theory, GULP moves beyond individualistic models of health education by embedding healthier hydration habits within children's everyday routines, supported by trusted figures such as community sports coaches. Evaluation data from recent local authority delivery projects indicate meaningful shifts in children's drink preferences, particularly in favour of water. This paper situates GULP within the wider context of commercial determinants of health and argues for a more integrated, socially attuned model of oral health promotion; one that aligns with upstream prevention, addresses structural inequalities, and leverages the cultural influence of sport to foster long-term change.

Child oral health inequalities remain both profound and preventable, with free-sugars consumption a major modifiable driver. Yet oral health is routinely peripheral within wider child-health policy, underscoring the need for upstream, setting-based interventions capable of reaching children in communities with the greatest need.‘Give Up Loving Pop' (GULP) leverages the relational authority of professional sports clubs and school environments to reshape hydration practices, integrating social practice theory with structured personal, social, health and economic education delivery. Through material supports (e.g., reusable bottles), routine-focused activities, and credible role models, the programme embeds ‘water-first' norms without relying on moralising or individualistic framings.Evaluation across multiple regions demonstrates consistent shifts toward healthier hydration, especially increased water preference in school, sport, and out-of-home contexts, alongside clearer understanding of drink sugar content and modest improvements in oral hygiene routines. These findings indicate GULP's potential as an oral health improvement programme.

Child oral health inequalities remain both profound and preventable, with free-sugars consumption a major modifiable driver. Yet oral health is routinely peripheral within wider child-health policy, underscoring the need for upstream, setting-based interventions capable of reaching children in communities with the greatest need.

‘Give Up Loving Pop' (GULP) leverages the relational authority of professional sports clubs and school environments to reshape hydration practices, integrating social practice theory with structured personal, social, health and economic education delivery. Through material supports (e.g., reusable bottles), routine-focused activities, and credible role models, the programme embeds ‘water-first' norms without relying on moralising or individualistic framings.

Evaluation across multiple regions demonstrates consistent shifts toward healthier hydration, especially increased water preference in school, sport, and out-of-home contexts, alongside clearer understanding of drink sugar content and modest improvements in oral hygiene routines. These findings indicate GULP's potential as an oral health improvement programme.